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Sharptop Jones
Sharptop Jones (real name unrevealed) was an older sibling of Flattop Jones Sr.. Sharptop bore an uncanny resemblance to the younger brother he barely knew. Sharptop wore glasses and had white hair, which he wore swept back from the front in such a way that it came to a point. He claimed that this was the source of his nickname, and that it was applied to him long before he developed a reputation for his intellect. Sharptop shared other physical characteristics with his family, such as heavy eyelids and a pronounced lips, but he did not have freckles. Early Life Sharptop claimed that he had been raised by a church-going aunt and uncle, and he had little contact with the rest of his family, though Flattop apparently spent time at the farm as well. Sharptop grew up to be a solid law-abiding citizen and had a long illustrious career as a College Professor, specializing in the occult and the supernatural. He adopted the pseudonym "St. Jones" to distance himself from his criminal relatives, and he avoided media attention. Coming to Dick Tracy's City While in his late-60s, Sharptop came to the City to give a lecture, which was attended by Gravel Gertie and her niece Crystal Plenty. Sharptop demonstrated a dismissive attitude towards new-age philosophy. This offended Crystal, who was a practicing medium. She invited Sharptop to attend a session where she would channel the spirit of a deceased person, and Sharptop agreed. Junior Tracy and his wife Sparkle also attended. Sharptop made it clear to Junior that he bore no ill-will towards Junior or Dick Tracy, and that his brother had brought his violent end upon himself. Crystal appeared to channel the "spirit" of Flattop, which possessed his brother. "Flattop" recognized Junior and fled. He was disoriented by the differences in his body and the world around him. He dyed his hair to more closely resemble Flattop and sought out some of his old criminal contacts. Sharptop, as Flattop, tracked down the gang of bank robbers being led by Rashy. He shot Rashy and had the gang members dump the body in a river. He then led the gang in several bank robberies, altering Rashy's patterns to avoid detection. Sharptop spent several weeks living as Flattop. "Possessed" by Flattop When "Flattop" learned that his old enemy Montgomery Grafton was running for Governor and planned to speak at the University, he decided to get revenge. He reverted to Sharptop's appearance and planned to assassinate Grafton. He obtained a high-powered rifle, and gained access to an empty building on the campus. He was found by Gravel Gertie and B.O. Plenty before he could shoot Grafton. B.O. and "Flattop" grappled while Gertie alerted Dick Tracy, who had come to warn Grafton. "Flattop" knocked out B.O. and was preparing to shoot Grafton when Tracy arrived. Sharptop's body began to suffer a bout of heartburn, which "Flattop's" spirit interpreted as a heart attack. Tracy was able to convince "Flattop" to leave Sharptop's dying body, which it did. Sharptop's personality then re-asserted itself, and he recovered from his indigestion. Aftermath Sharptop was taken into custody, where he expressed a desire to atone for his actions as "Flattop". Tracy arranged for Sharptop, as "Flattop" to lead the police to Rashy's gang, in the hopes that they could be apprehended without bloodshed. Sharptop agreed, although shots were fired when the gang members discovered the presence of the police. Sharptop was held on bank robbery charges, but Tracy expressed confidence that a good attorney could help Sharptop avoid a prison sentence, claiming that he had been delusional when he committed the bank robberies. Rashy's body is not known to have been recovered, so Sharptop presumably was not charged with murder. Notes *The exact nature of Shaprtop's "possession" is ambiguous. There have been several "ghosts" presented in the Dick Tracy comic strip, both fraudulent and apparently genuine. According to the thought balloons from Sharptop during the time of his "possession", he seemed to genuinely believe that he was Flattop. *Sharptop remembered the actions that he committed as "Flattop", but did not seem to have confessed to the murder of Rashy. *Sharptop specifically stated that he is the older brother of Flattop, however he did not specify his birth order with relation to Blowtop or Auntie Flattop. *The aunt and uncle who raised Sharptop did not share the rest of the family's physical characteristics, indicating that they were most likely from Sharptop's mother's side of the family. Category:Jones Family Category:Villains Category:Reformed Criminals Category:Professors